National Pet Month 2008

A Charity Fashion Show 

(FOR HUMANS AND DOGS!)  

will be held at the Sherwood Welfare on Birding Street, Mansfield on Friday 11th April at 7.30pm.

Only £1 Entry Fee if you’d like your Dog to participate. 

All proceeds to; 

'National Pet Month 2008'.

Branded names clothing, sizes 8 to 32, half-price or less. i.e. Next, Gap, Wallis, New Look, M & S, Principles, Evans, Miss Selfridge, Pilot, Dorothy Perkins, Monsoon, Fire Trap, Per Una etc.

Ladies; Please come to ogle our very handsome Male Models and ‘aah’ at the dressed doggies!

Inexpensive refreshments available and Giant Gift-Wrapped Tombola.

Raffle with top prize £50 Holiday Voucher courtesy of Louise Cutting, Travel Counsellor.

A FUN night out - tickets only £1. 

Telephone (01623) 653173 

or please pay on the door.

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In the past, our Volunteers and Trustees have tried to do some unusual fund-raising events - which has always increased the takings.

Previously we've;

Organised Mansfield’s 1^st Christmas Fayre - in May!

Had Alan Meale M.P. serving in McDonald’s one Saturday morning (wearing their uniform) and collecting donations,

Had Dame Barbara Cartland judging a ‘Love Is’ Competition,

Had Graham Norton calling the Bingo for our Annual Charity Concert,

Had Yvette's husband Tony sporting half a beard for a month, 

Listened to Des O’Connor's music for 24-hours,

Listened to Tommy Steele's music for 24-hours,

Listened to Howard Keel’s music for 24-hours, 

Held a 'Spaghetti-a-Thon' - amongst other events.

where she intended playing Bingo on t’Internet for  eighteen hours. HOWEVER, she had so much fun that she managed to play for twenty hours non-stop.

(We know that most Charity Sponsored Marathon sessions are usually held for  twenty four hours but we decided to allow Yvette to do it for  eighteen hours. We feared that at her advanced age - forty five  - she’d be on the verge of death if she stayed awake for twenty four hours!)

A highly-respected local businessman Mr. John Sankey M.B.E. (please see his company's Website) www.johnsankey.com VERY kindly lent us the stake for her to play - so it didn't cost the Charity anything. 

It was intended that any profits would have been split 20 / 80 between National Pet Month and The Pet Bereavement Support Group. 

HOWEVER, please read on ~ Yvette's report of the effort;

"I played TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY ONE consecutive games – every five minutes, starting at 5am on Friday 27th April and finishing at 1am on Saturday 28th April.

And I didn’t win a single penny - nowt, zero, nada, zilch, nothing, nil!

You wouldn’t think it was possible, would you?

Although I didn’t actually win anything from the Bingo itself (as it was a Sponsored Event too) I had a couple of hundred pounds of sponsorship promised so it was successful as a fund-raising event – just not as successful as it might have been, had I have won!

It was an absolutely fascinating thing to do and I didn’t begrudge a single minute of it. When I started at five o’clock in the morning I was amazed to discover (at that ungodly hour) that there were already eighty-two people playing Bingo!

As I was playing, I told my fellow players (or ‘Roomies’ as they are known) all about my endeavours and the support and encouragement I got from them was simply incredible. People were asking me all about it, wishing me luck and even kept signing on several times throughout the day just to come onto the Site to say “How’s Smiley (my Username) doing?”

As they were enquiring about my progress (or lack of it) they imparted lots of personal information about themselves which made it even  more enthralling as I could just imagine their lives too. The Landlady from East Sussex who kept leaving the Pub, the Security Guard from Leicester who popped in between his security checks, the Owner of the Kilt Shop in Dundee who logged in during her lunch hour, the recently bereaved widow who stayed with me until an hour before she took her Driving Test, all these immensely kind people made those twenty hours just fly by.

I got down to one number (a sweat) on numerous occasions and if ‘my number had come up’ I’d have won well over £2,000. But, like my plaintive cry when I check the Lottery numbers on a Saturday night, I NEARLY won!

I did research prior to the event and checked out all the Internet Bingo Sites but found the Sun Site to be far superior to any of the others. The ‘Chat Rooms’ were flourishing with very friendly people, the Chat Room Moderators did a superb job in keeping the ‘Roomies’ entertained and the prize money was much better then on anyone of the other Sites. So that was where our stake money went – and stayed!

I actually felt very sorry for the Sun Internet Bingo Site because they were in a truly ‘no win’ situation. If I’d have won I’m sure the Roomies would have said "it was fixed!" then (when I didn’t win) they said “It was for Charity – they should have fixed it!”

Bless them, the Sun Internet Bingo Site have said that they’ll make me a donation anyway - so that was added to the sponsorship.

The most abiding memory I will have of the whole event will be of another world that I accidentally stumbled upon. As ‘Roomies’ were chatting electronically many a tragic tale of immense loss was shared. As a Bereavement Counsellor it was just wonderful to witness that such an informal network does a simply amazing job of mutual support. 

It was heart-warming to share their stories and I felt privileged to have spent a full day of my life being part of a world that I probably wouldn’t ever have seen - if I hadn’t have tried to think of something different to raise funds.

As a fund-raising event I wouldn’t recommend it - but as a life experience I certainly would!"

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We gave 10% of our sponsorship money to National Pet Month - a Charity which encourages responsible pet ownership and advocates that pets can contribute to a healthy and happy society - with which we heartily agree.

Top 10 Tips For Responsible Pet Ownership;

 1.          Think carefully before getting a pet and learn about its special requirements.

2.          Ensure your pet is sociable and well trained.

3.          Provide a nutritious and well balanced diet.

4.          Provide suitable housing and bedding.

5.          Clean up after your pet and worm it regularly.

6.          Protect against disease. Your vet can provide you with advice.

7.          Prevent unwanted litters and neuter your pet when appropriate.

8.          Groom your pet regularly.

9.          Control your pet and ensure it is properly identified.

10.    Take out pet insurance for dogs, cats and horses to cover against unexpected veterinary fees and third party liability.  

To see more about National Pet Month please access their Website;